If Qatar’s leadership ever thought calls to reform labor laws and address poor living conditions for migrant workers ahead of the 2022 World Cup could be driven away with rhetoric and the passage of time, it appears increasingly clear that the international body that holds sway over world soccer’s biggest tournament isn’t on the same page.

It remains unclear, however, whether Qatar’s move toward change will be quick or dramatic enough for the audience that matters when it comes to the World Cup and its desire to be seen as a progressive force in the Middle East: the international community. FIFA is asking for Qatar to provide a report on its labor-reform progress by February 12, and will use it to prepare for a hearing at the European Parliament the following day. Another report is to be delivered to FIFA in March. Human rights organizations, meanwhile, are using international attention brought by the World Cup to keep the labor situation in the spotlight.

One of the main complaints about labor in Qatar and elsewhere in the Gulf is the so-called kafala sponsorship system, under which foreign laborers are often recruited by middlemen and take on large debts to get jobs in the region under local sponsors. Once in the Gulf, their jobs and salaries are sometimes different from those they were promised. Sponsors often hold workers’ passports, effectively leaving their movement at the whim of their employers.

“Ultimately, what we need are clear rules and steps that will build trust and ensure that the situation, which is unacceptable at the moment, improves in a sustainable manner,” Theo Zwanziger, a former president of the German Football Association, said in FIFA’s recent statement. Mr. Zwanziger is representing FIFA in the European Parliament later this month.